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If you’re currently in self-isolation and you’re not able to work from home so you’re stuck with nothing much to do, now is the perfect time to delve into your finances and get all those little things you’ve been putting off ticked off your list.

This article will go through some of the things you can do with your finances online so you can be productive while not being able to leave the house.

Compare your bills and insurance products

If you’ve always wondered whether you’re paying the right price for your broadband, energy bills or car insurance, now’s the perfect time to sit down at your computer and check everything out. If you haven’t changed any of these providers for a while, you could find you’ve been paying a lot more than you should have been.

Using an online comparison website will allow you to see all the available providers, and the website will often rank them in order of price so the cheapest option should be at the top of the list. If this isn’t your current provider, then switch to them if you can. You may be tied into a contract with your current provider but note down the day you can switch in your diary and make sure you do it then.

Switch bank accounts

Have a look at your bank account and assess whether it still suits your needs and current financial position. A lot of people just stick to the first bank account they opened when they were young, but this may not be suitable anymore if your income, outgoings and savings have increased. Have a look around online and on comparison websites to see what interest rates, offers and perks other banks are offering.

Switch your credit card

Now is also a good time to have a look at your credit card(s) – what interest rate are you being charged and what perks do you have? A lot of credit card providers offer low interest deals to new customers and a lot have different rewards, for example cashback, airmiles, points redeemable against shopping, etc. so make sure you have a look at these.

Consolidate debts

If you’ve got a few separate debts you’re paying off every month, perhaps a couple of credit cards and a personal loan, you could consider consolidating these to one loan or balance transfer credit card. Having multiple monthly payments can be confusing and difficult to keep on top of and being charged multiple different interest rates can be expensive. If you consolidate all of these debts to one place, you’ll only have one monthly payment to think about and you should be charged less in interest.

Create a budget and financial plan

This is also a good time to sit down and organise all of your finances and create a plan or budget for the next year. Log on to your online banking and take a look at your income and outgoings from the past few months and try to find places where you can start to save some money. Look at all of your direct debits and standing orders – are there any you can cancel or get cheaper somewhere else? How much are you currently saving per month, and can you save more?

It’s useful to have some financial goals in mind so you have something to work towards.

Refinance loans

It depends where you are in your mortgage term, but you may be coming up to the end of your fixed-term introductory period. This means you can refinance and switch to a different lender before your mortgage reverts to your current mortgage lender’s standard variable interest rate.

This can be done online through mortgage comparison websites and online mortgage brokers.

Check your pension provisions

Another thing which might be sensible to have a look at is your pension provisions. Retirement may be a fair amount of time away for you, but it’s always worth making sure you’re on the right track whilst you’ve got plenty of time to make any adjustments. Make sure you’re aware of your state pension entitlements to see if you’ve got enough provision in place or if you need to think about increasing your pension savings.

 

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